Mystery in the Mist Forest 3

Chapter 13: Mystery in the Mist Forest 3

A fleet of armored military convoys rumbles through the devastated lands leading to Mist Island also known as the mist forest. Each one carrying elite soldiers from all three regions. The destination is the same location Commander R vanished into.

Among them, one particular armored tank stands out not because it’s the biggest, but because of those inside it. This tank carries the future of humanity’s military might who are just six nanotech-armored captains, handpicked from the three surviving regions. They are young, sharp, and lethal. Two from the Western Region, three from the Central Region and one from the Eastern Region

All under 25. The youngest is only 16, but is already a captain. This isn’t just a group of random captains the apex among the best captains and the captain leading them is no other than Captain Trevor, Commander R’s last apprentice, the same man who once faced Commander R at the infamous Slaughterhouse Massacre.

Trevor rises to speak, as his voice echoes through the tight interior of the tank.

"Good evening, my fellow Captains. I know the journey’s been long, but the mission ahead is the most dangerous of our lives. We are giving this mission not only because we are the best but because we are humanity last hope. So, the fate of our regions and our future depends on it. I’m honored to lead—"

he’s cut off from the corner by the youngest in the room, a Central Region prodigy as he leans back while casually assembling and reconfiguring his nanotech rifle into a compact pistol. He speaks in Japanese saying

“Pepu tōku wa iranai, Captain. Wareware wa minna Captain da.”

Everyone stares.

Especially the red big guy in the room, a Steforian from the Western Region. His build is monstrous, but his brain is not.

“What the hell did he just say, Captain Trev?” he grunts, confused.

“Stop calling me that” Trevor replies, as he is embarrassed not only because of his steforian words but he does not know the meaning of the central region captain’s words as he takes a glance at the only woman in the squad, the lone representative of the East. She crosses her legs and smirks.

“The Western Region always making brawn with no brains.”

Trevor in disbelief, “Racheal, don’t tell me you’re siding with this kid?”

“Well what he is tr………….” She gets caught off by the young captain words

“Shush, Rach. The adults are talking, it is bad for a child to interrupt”

Racheal’s eyes flare.

“Who the fuck are you calling a child? boy!!!!!!!! I’m the eldest here!”

The young captain doesn’t flinch as he ignores her words. Which made Racheal more mad

“I am fuckin going to kill this boy”

“I said no pep talk. That’s all.” Still did not reply Racheal as he brings his forth towards captain Trevor
“Captain Akumakawaii. And yours?”

Trevor raises a brow, amused by this kid’s confidence.

“Captain Trevor.”

Akumakawaii glances at Racheal, nods.

“Captain Racheal.”
“you are indeed a devil” Racheal replies with a smirk as she tilts her head maintaining her composure.

The two other captains from the Central Region both calm and precise waves at them

“Lei and Yun” they reply with a smile.

“This is Captain Stone” Trevor adds pointing at the steforian in the far end who is has been more focused on his fingers

“Hey, Trev…” he suddenly says.
“Why do I have three fingers, and y’all have five?”

Everyone turns to Trevor in confusion.

"HOW THE HELL IS HE A CAPTAIN?!"

Trevor shrugs, defeated.

“He might sound dumb, but trust me on the field? He’s a monster.”

Just then, the radio cracks.

“Captain… We’ve entered the forest... signal…….ghh……can’t hear you…….do you……..” the radio stops to transmit. Suddenly, s mixture of screeching animal sounds and distorted human voices bleeds through the shadows as gun shots starts to fill the air.

The vehicle halts instantly and every soldier shifts into serious mode as nanotech helmets come on and visors lock then weapons begin to pulse with red energy.

Trevor stands and looks at them all prepared for the battle

“Captains, are you ready?”

Captain Akumakawaii’s voice through the nanotech helmets as he replies:

“We’re always ready. The real question; are you?”

Those words hit Trevor like a ghost from the past as memories starts to play over his head

But he shoves it aside.

“This is for humanity. For Earth’s survival.”

“I am a soldier first everything else follows” he says to himself

Then doors of the vehicle open as the captains steps into the mist and their glowing weapons womp louder glowing a red lights hungry for war.

Then, the doors of the vehicle hiss open.

The six captains’ step into the Mist. Their nanotech weapons glow with a dangerous red, pulsing louder hungry for war.

But the scene that greets them is worse than anything they imagined.

Corpses of scavengers, mercenaries, and soldiers of those who entered the forest just hours earlier now roam as lifeless beings with their faces darkened, minds erased. All they do is attack, rip, and kill. Four-foot spiders, mutated wolves, bats the size of men lurch across the forest floor and sky, tearing through anything that moves. The entire island is now a massacre zone.

A soldier stumbles out of the mist and rushes toward them.
as Trevor grabs him. “What the hell is going on out here!?”

All around, the sounds of lasers, gunfire, and grenades thunder through the air as beasts fall and rise again.
Dead soldiers don’t stay dead.

The sergeant stammers. “Sir... I... I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything this horrific.”

Trevor watches in grim amusement. Is this the power of the Mist?

Racheal steps beside him. “You’re sure this is where the Commander is?”

Trevor nods, eyes scanning the chaos. “According to our intel... yes.”

“Intel from who? A freaking scavenger leader?” Racheal snaps.

“No. The Landlord,” Trevor says, his tone sharp. “He said there’s something on this island important enough to drag the Commander here. So, he’s here.”

Captain Akumakawaii leans forward with his nanotech blade crackling with energy. “What the hell would make the Commander come to a place this devious?”

Trevor stares into the mist. “Not what. Who.”

Suddenly, a screech from above which is coming from a bat, ten times its size as it descends from the sky coming with full force to attack.

Captain Stone doesn’t flinch as he attacks instantly with his nanotech as it shifts in his hand, transforming into a massive blade. He leaps up and cleaves the bat in half, the impact shaking the ground.

Soldiers around them freeze and stunned.

“I’m bored,” Stone grunts. “Can we start the fun now?”

That’s when it begins.

The captains charge into battle. Their weapons morph into blades, rifles, and cannons filled with pure devastation. One by one, the Mist-infected drop like flies.

It takes them minutes to wipe out what the soldiers have been fighting for hours as the island shakes from their fury.

Their suits drip with blood and their nanotech soaked. But just when they think it’s over...

HISSSSSSSSSS

Two Mist snakes burst through the sky, crashing into the trees. Each one twice the size of a hover truck. Not as large as the beast Commander R fought—but big enough to kill dozens with a single swipe.

The captains did not hesitate as they splits into two teams; Trevor, Racheal, and Stone move toward the first snake while Lei, Yun, and Akumakawaii rush the second.

The battle turns brutal.

As Fangs slam into the ground, breaking it apart. These snakes are fast—too fast as Each team struggles to keep up.

Meanwhile, behind them, the fallen soldiers, even the animals, start to rise again. The Mist reanimates everything.

The soldiers watch in terror.

The Captains wants to help but they are too locked in because as the three captains per snake... adjust to the speed of the snakes and getting faster these snakes are not easy to out down in a second.

They haven’t even entered the deep forest yet, this is just the beginning.

The captains need to act as fast as possible. Then Trevor shouts,
“Sergents! Open fire towards any Mist creature be it human or not! Everyone listen to me, this is no longer a drill! The moment a friend or your comrade is bitten or dead—then comes back to life—do not fuckin’ hesitate to pull the trigger!
You are not a bad person—you’re doing it for the sake of your region! You are a soldier first! Everything else comes later! So don’t be scared! When you die, be proud of it!”

As Trevor, Racheal, and the Captains advance toward the two snakes, these words instantly boost the soldiers’ morale. They enter the battlefield, shooting and killing every infected soldier and brutally slaughtering every Mist creature in the way.

Racheal replies,
“Nice speech, Cap.”

The three teams attack the first snake. As the snake tries to bite them head-on, the three of them dodge instantly. Trevor weaves to the side, Racheal moves to the other side, and Captain Stone jumps onto the snake’s skull and stabs its head. This makes the snake cry in agony as it hisses loud enough to shake the ground, trying to throw the captain off—but Stone is having none of it.

Instantly, Racheal and Trevor’s weapons turn into big laser guns as they start blasting the snake as much as they can until the lasers turn black, now back to their normal forms.
Trevor says,
“It’s not enough.”

The attack only does little damage. The snake twists its body, dragging itself back to the ground, and finally throws Captain Stone off.as he hits the ground hard.

Stone tries to attack head-on and go for the head, but the snake anticipates it. Instantly, it uses its tail to hit the captain toward Racheal and Trevor, slamming them into a building. They crash into the walls, their backs hitting hard and they spit blood from their mouths but do not stop.

Instantly, they launch another attack. Trevor says,
“If lasers can’t do you a lot of damage … blades can.”

Their nanotech lasers split into two katanas, and they start slashing the snake. The more they cut, the more the snake heals.

Stone charges again, furious. Every slice just makes the snake angrier. It jumps into the air, and with full force, it comes crashing down, trying to crush them.

Trevor jumps up as well. As the snake opens its mouth to swallow him, Trevor smirks and tosses two grenades into its throat.

BOOM.

The explosions blow the snake’s fangs out. It screams in pain and crashes back to the ground.

Racheal moves in. Her nanotech blades shift into a long spiked chain. She grabs the handles and wraps the chain around the snake’s mouth and neck, tightening it with force. The spikes pierce through, locking its jaw shut.

Racheal says,
“I’m tired of your fuckin’ noise.”

But it doesn’t stop the snake. It starts to thrash, moving in discomfort.

Suddenly, the second snake tries to ambush Racheal from behind. It gets close and almost bites her. But a blast hits it square in the face and it flies backward.

Captain Akumakawaii steps forward looking down on the snake he blasted and says,
“Baka. Tend to yourself before others.”
Then winks at Racheal.

Racheal nods and replies,
“Show off.”

The battle with the second snake continues.

As the second snake screeches out loud, the twin commanders attack from the air, trying to target its head. But the snake instantly weaves, and they hit the ground instead. It sees this as an opportunity to strike but a heavy fire blast from the side blasts it off again.

Captain Akumakawaii steps forward, pointing his fingers at the snake,
“You are mine.”

Instantly, the snake changes its target and charges toward Captain Akumakawaii. But the twin captains are having none of that and charge alongside the snake. Captain Lei charges up, his nanotech blade transforms into a staff with two sharp edges and throws it directly at the snake’s head.

The snake weaves the attack unaware Captain Yue is already at its side. Yue slashes at the snake's throat. The clean cut goes deep but not enough. The snake struggles and throws him away, its main focus still on one person:

“The cute devil.”

Captain Akumakawaii smiles at the snake’s determination. As it gets closer, it tries to crush him with its body. The Captain stunts out of the way, weaving the attack but the snake doesn’t stop. Its strikes become relentless. The Captain keeps dodging, but the snake increases its pace, starting to give him a hard time.

Then—BAM.
The snake lands a clean hit with its tail. The Captain flies to the ground. Instantly, the snake charges, trying to bite his head off.

Captain Lei is having none of it picks his nanotech staff from the ground and throws it directly at the snake’s head. This pierces through and pins it to the ground.

Captain Yue instantly runs toward it and tries to dissect the snake. but the snake drags its mouth upward in pain, its skin peeling open from the wound to avoid Yue attack

Before it lifts its head again
BOOM.

Captain Akumakawaii jumps onto the snake’s head, and his nanotech laser rifle transforms into a massive sledgehammer as he leaps and slams it down

CRACK!
The snake’s head scatters into pieces.

Captain Akumakawaii stands on its body, the snake has no headbut it keeps struggling. Still fighting,

How is this possible?
This beast should be dead already.
They all think to themselves—

Suddenly, the three captains’ nanotech turns gold.
But the snake’s body pieces begin assembling again.

Captain Akumakawaii and the twin captains make distance.

“Our swords can’t do it... then let’s see if you survive an AT4.”

He kneels in the middle, the twin captains beside him as they blast the assembling snake with three AT4s.
The blast disintegrates the snake into ashes.
The forest, trees, and surrounding Mist creatures explode.

On the other side, Captain Trevor sees the explosion. His reaper turns gold too. Instantly, he signals Rachel and Stone and suddenly Rachel drops attack and starst to run towards Trevor the snake tries to use this as an opportunity forgetting Stine is at the back who grabs the tail of the snake and throws the snake across the ground and they assemble behind him.

“Let’s blow this bastard away like the Devil did.”

Their reapers transform into AT4s.
As the snake tries to strike, Racheal yells:

“Fuck you, bitch!”

They fire, and everything in front—trees, buildings, Mist animals—disintegrates with it.

No time wasted.
They join the struggling soldiers in the battle.

Then Trevor yells,
“We have to advance!”

And they move killing every animal in their path.
The animals start to flee as the death of the two snakes has them panicking.
The human Mist isn’t much of a problem anymore.
The captains lead the soldiers forward until they reach the main cavalry.

It takes hours but they get to the T-junction where the cavalry and mercenaries are already fighting.

From afar, a loud voice rings out:

“Backups are back!”

The fight against Mist animals and zombies is intense,
But the soldiers cheer because the captains are making everything easier.

Trevor scans the area... and notices someone.
A man. Fighting.

His movements—precise.
Mist creatures keep coming for him... but he keeps killing them.
Fatigued, fat, disfigured with a one eye, blood thirst and Tired. But relentless.

Trevor’s eyes narrow.
This man looks familiar, not just familiar his fighting skills, his brutality, his precision, his attack his defense there is nobody who can be this weak and yet be so perfect.

Suddenly, the man fighting yells:
“Fuck it!”

Trevor freezes.
That voice.
He knows it.

The memories come flooding back.

“I know that voice anywhere!”
Trevor’s rage builds as he shouts.
“That’s... that’s fuckin’ Commander R!!”

Everyone is confused. Shocked.

Racheal asks,
“Are you sure?”

Trevor shouts,
“I know that damn voice anywhere! He was my fuckin’ personal trainer!
That is the traitor!!”

Instantly, guns and lasers lock onto Commander R.

He turns, grief and exhaustion on his face as he sights the voice shouting his name.
“Trevor... not fuckin’ now...”

Before anyone can move; A loud screech shakes the battlefield.
It’s deeper.
Louder than anything before.

Not just a snake’s hiss but like a giant wolf's howl mixed in.

R uses the distraction to escape as Mercenaries and scavengers open fire and pursue R.
as the captains prepare to pursue, it becomes too late.

Because, more Mist creatures, dead soldiers begin to arise and attack like they heard the call from their leader
And then...

Six giant snakes just like the ones the captains just defeated ready to attack.